I feel like there are more good movies coming out this fall than there have been in quite some time, or maybe I’m just paying more attention lately! If one of these new releases caught your eye and you’re looking for a book with the same vibe, we have a list for you! And keep an eye out for part 2 soon!
If you’re interested in The Substance (a fading celebrity decides to use a black market drug to temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself unknowingly giving herself horrifying side effects), try Rouge by Mona Awad: When a strange woman appears at the funeral of Belle’s estranged mother, she is offering a tantalizing clue about her mother’s demise, followed by a cryptic video about a transformative spa experience. Soon, Belle is lured into the barbed embrace of La Maison de Méduse, the same lavish, culty spa to which her mother was devoted.
If you’re interested in His Three Daughters (three estranged sisters converge in a New York apartment to care for their ailing father and try to mend their own broken relationship with one another), try Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors: The three Blue sisters are exceptionally different. A year ago, the unexpected death of their fourth sister, Nicky, left Avery, Bonnie and Lucky reeling. As they each navigate grief, addiction, and ambition, they find they must return to New York to stop the sale of the apartment they were raised in.
If you’re interested in Long Gone Heroes (a special forces soldier who has given up country, religion, and even hope, must return to the field of battle to track down his niece, a reporter, caught in the middle of an illegal private contracting operation that went dead wrong), try The Investigator by John Sanford: Letty, a recent Stanford grad and adopted daughter of a famed detective, is partnered with a DHS investigator to investigate thefts of crude oil in Texas that might have ties to a violent militia group.
If you’re interested in Killer Heat (after a mysterious death, a wounded detective investigates a dangerous love triangle on an isolated Greek island), try Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor: In the shadow of extravagant parties, predatory business deals and calculated political influence, three lives become dangerously intertwined: Ajay is the watchful servant, born into poverty, who rises through the family’s ranks. Sunny is the playboy heir who dreams of outshining his father, whatever the cost. And Neda is the curious journalist caught between morality and desire.
If you’re interested in Lee (the story of American photographer Lee Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II), try Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon: Nancy Wake, an Australian expat has a reporting job and is in love with a wealthy French industrialist, but when the Germans invade France, she finds that she has a remarkable ability to smuggle people and documents across the border.
If you’re interested in The Wild Robot (an intelligent robot stranded on an uninhabited island must bond with the island’s animals and care for an orphaned baby goose), try A Psalm For the Wild Built by Becky Chambers: It’s been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and wandered into the wilderness. Until the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in.
If you’re interested in Will and Harper (Will Ferrell and his close friend of 30 years decide to go on a cross-country road trip after she tells him about her transition), try Horse Barbie by Geena Rocero: By 17, Geena Rocero was the Philippines’ highest-earning trans pageant queen. But when she moved to the U.S., Geena hid her trans identity in order to survive. She craved acceptance as her authentic self yet had to remain vigilant in order to protect her dream career.
If you’re interested in Rez Ball (a Native American high school basketball team from New Mexico must band together after losing their star player), try Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley: As greedy grave robbers seek to profit off of what belongs to her Anishinaabe tribe and Indigenous women go missing, Perry Firekeeper-Birch, the troublemaker, has no choice but to uncover the mystery.
If you’re interested in We Live In Time (a chance encounter brings a chef and a recent divorcée together in a decade-spanning romance), try From Scratch: : A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi Locke: It was love at first sight when actress Tembi met professional chef, Saro, on a street in Florence. Saro’s traditional Sicilian family did not approve of his marrying a black American woman. But the couple built a happy life in Los Angeles, and reconciled with Saro’s family just as he faced a formidable cancer that would consume all their dreams.
Ellen Whitfield is senior publicist at Books Forward, an author publicity and book marketing firm committed to promoting voices from a diverse variety of communities. From book reviews and author events, to social media and digital marketing, we help authors find success and connect with readers.
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